Maura Healey envisions fighting battles on many fronts as head of the Attorney General's office, but says she’s grounded by one simple philosophy.

"I am fundamentally driven by my desire to (run) an office that helps people and solves problems in the state," the Democratic candidate for AG said Thursday. "It’s the people’s law firm, and you’re there to protect the public’s interest."

During a wide-ranging interview with the Daily News editorial board about policy and her candidacy, Healey pointed to her experience within the office and her position as a political outsider as unique strengths.

Healey, 43, of Charlestown, has never run for statewide office before. A former deputy attorney general who served at the AG’s office from 2007-2013, she’ll square off against former state senator and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Warren Tolman in the September Democratic primary.

"I come in with the view and the feeling that I’m not beholden to anybody, save for the people of this state," said Healey, who sees transparency as another strength.

"I am the only candidate who has released her tax return, posted online her questionnaires and called for the most robust pledge to ban special interest money," she said.

While she is seen as a political outsider, Healey said she is the candidate most familiar with the office - at one time overseeing about half of its 500 employees.

"I’ve been on the front lines the last seven years in that office," she said. "I have been there doing the job, which I think will enable me to hit the ground running."

Healey said she couldn’t pin herself down to two or three initiatives that stand out among the rest. She said she didn’t have any quibbles with the way the office has been run under outgoing Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is running for governor.

Healey said she sees the office as able to "attack a bunch of different fronts at once," detailing a number of problems in the state she believes require more AG resources.

Healey specifically mentioned the heroin epidemic and mental health crisis as areas where she would like to focus, and spoke about her plan to reform the criminal justice system.

"At the end of the day, if you’ve got a drug problem, if you’ve got a real mental health issue, jail probably isn’t going to make it better," she said. "We need to get you to a place where you can get treatment."

Healey said she doesn’t anticipate new resources coming to the office, but has a plan in her head about how she’d like to shift some things around.

For example, she proposes creating a division devoted solely to youth protection. Right now, different elements of the attorney general's office hit on different areas of youth protection.

Page 2 of 2 - She said she also would like to devote resources to prevent phone and Internet scams against senior citizens. And though she hasn’t struck the same adversarial tone with the National Rifle Association as Tolman, she says her three-point plan to reduce gun violence is the "most comprehensive plan out there."

Healey said the grassroots support for her campaign has been "humbling." With no real political base or constituency when she announced her candidacy a year ago, it was a surprise to many when Healey came within four percentage points of Tolman in the recent Democratic State Convention.

That showing included a win in MetroWest, as, according to her campaign, she bested Tolman 144 to 112 in MetroWest delegate votes.

Brad Petrishen can be reached at 508-490-7463 or bpetrishen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @BPetrishen_MWDN.